Under SC Scanner, UIDAI Says Ready to Address Concerns on Social Media Wing

The UIDAI, during the earlier hearing on a clutch of petitions challenging the validity of Aadhaar scheme, had told the court that it did not want to monitor the online activities of citizens holding Aadhaar cards.

Updated on: September 11, 2018, 9:07 PM IST

PTI

New Delhi: The Centre Tuesday told the Supreme Court it was willing to accommodate the suggestions of Trinamool Congress MLA Mahua Moitra in the proposal of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to hire a social media agency to monitor online platforms.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud was told by the Attorney General K K Venugopal that he would file an affidavit and, in all probability, the suggestions of Moitra are likely to be accommodated.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing next week.

The apex court had last week said the proposal of the UIDAI, which runs the Aadhaar scheme, to hire a social media agency to monitor such platforms was contrary to its earlier submissions. It had asked the Attorney General to assist it in the hearing of the plea on the issue.

The UIDAI, during the earlier hearing on a clutch of petitions challenging the validity of Aadhaar scheme, had told the court that it did not want to monitor the online activities of citizens holding Aadhaar cards.

Moitra had alleged that the move of hiring a social media monitoring agency was aimed at "mounting surveillance on social media platforms".

Her plea said the UIDAI, as per its bid document, was seeking to hire a social media agency that will employ 'online reputation management' and 'social listening' tools to monitor and influence conversations related to Aadhaar on platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

"Such action of the government violates her right of privacy. The scope of work of the Social Media Agency intended to be selected through the impugned request for proposal (RFP) is in the teeth of the judgment laid down by this Court in K S Puttaswamy case, wherein a bench of nine judges of this court recognised privacy as a fundamental right under the Constitution," the plea said.

The petition claimed that the aim of employing a "Social Listening Tool" by the UIDAI's social media agency in accordance with the RFP, on the pretext of raising awareness about Aadhaar, was nothing but an attempt to "overreach the jurisdiction" of the apex court.

"Despite the fact that the constitutional validity of various aspects of Aadhaar is under challenge before this Court in a batch of petitions and judgement has been

reserved by a Constitution Bench of this Court in the matter, the Respondents (Centre, UIDAI) have issued the RFP to identify 'top detractors' and 'neutralise negative sentiments' in relation to Aadhaar. It is therefore clear that the Respondents have no respect or regard for proceedings before this Court," the petition said.

The MLA has alleged that the haste with which the RFP was being pushed through, with the bids scheduled to be opened less than two weeks after the publication of the RFP itself, demonstrated the mala fides of the Centre and the UIDAI.

The plea claimed that weekly and monthly reports are to be prepared by the Social Media Agency, indicating the most discussed topics, top detractors, top influencers and the net sentiment related to Aadhaar.

"The entire surveillance architecture is to be placed in the hands of private persons employed on a contract basis who will be on the rolls of the service provider who emerges successful in the tender process.

"While surveillance by agents of the State is itself violative of the right to privacy, in this case, the privacy of the citizens of this country is sought to be placed at the mercy of non-State actors which reeks of manifest arbitrariness," the plea alleged.

Earlier, the Centre had told the apex court that it will undertake a complete review of the social media policy and had withdrawn its notification proposing a social media hub for the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry.

The decision had then led to the disposal of an earlier plea against the hub filed by Moitra against the notification of the I&B Ministry.